Section List

Early Childhood Paraprofessional Bootcamp 2025-26  

January 16, 2026

• ESU 10 - ADMIN
• Puncochar, Libbie

January 16th, 2026
This workshop provides information to support young children's learning in the domain of language and literacy.
Objectives
• To Discover Factors that Influence Children’s Literacy Development
• To Examine the Importance of Oral Communication in Literacy Development
• To Explore the Role of the Adult in Language/Literacy Development
• To Discover Effective Techniques for Reading with Children
• To Examine the Role of the Environment in Language/Literacy Development
• To Explore Activities that Strengthen Literacy Development



Paraprofessionals can meet the Rule 11 yearly requirement of 15 hrs. of Early Childhood specified professional development by taking three out of the four of these workshops.
Dates for the paraprofessional bootcamp include September 5, November 14, January 16, and February 27

Special Education Quarterly Meeting - January, 2026  

January 21, 2026 @ 9:00 AM

• ESU 10 - SPED
• Reeves, Courtney

Join us as we continue to build on the “Golden Thread”—strengthening the connection between eligibility, meaningful service minutes, and the alignment of services and supports to student needs. Led by Jon Paul Burden, this session will focus on writing purposeful goals, determining appropriate service minutes, and ensuring decisions support each student’s success in the least restrictive environment (LRE).

Deadline for registration January 14, 2026, which is one week prior to meeting.  

New Teacher Academy 1.22.26  

January 22, 2026

• ESU 10 - T&L
• Essay, Sarah

The New Teacher Academy is designed to help prepare and  support new teachers through their first year in the classroom.  This workshop series is based on the new Nebraska Teacher Performance Standards.

Days 1 and 2 are BOTH required for new teachers to attend. New Teacher Academy is a 4-day series, with Days 1 and 2 back-to-back in July.

Day 1 (July 30) will focus on creating a quality learning environment through set up, relationships and classroom management. Day 1 is only for new teachers.

Day 2 (July 31) will include mentors as well as we look at professionalism, planning, and the stages of the first year of teaching. 

Days 3 (Oct 1) and 4 (Jan 22) will address hot topics for these times of year including classroom management, reflection, engagement and instruction strategies, and professionalism.

Participants in ESU 10’s New Teacher Academy have the potential to receive one session of coaching which includes a pre-observation meeting, an observation, and a debrief session to support teacher growth and goal-setting for their first year.

ESU 10 recommends this series to teachers within their first three years of teaching. This year’s series will focus on classroom management, engagement, and relationships.

CTE Collaboration Day 2026  

January 27, 2026

• ESU 10 - T&L
• Clapp, Kelly

Collaborate with other ESU 9, 10, and 11 Career & Technical Educators!  This 13th Annual Collaboration Day is for all CTE teachers, school counselors, and administrators.  School districts are encouraged to bring a team to this event.  Nebraska Career Education Director, Dr. Katie Graham, Assistant Director, Sydney Kobza, and the Career Field Specialists will be joining us.  There will be a special focus on:  

• Use of Federal Perkins Funds vs. State CTE Funds

• EdRising & Grow Your Own Initiative to Support Educator Recruitment

• Supporting Literacy in the CTE Classroom

• Serving Special Populations

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Enhance Teaching & Learning

Prevent, Teach, Reinforce for the Young Child (Day 1 of 2)  

January 29, 2026

• ESU 10 - ADMIN
• Puncochar, Libbie

Challenging behavior in early childhood classrooms can disrupt learning and strain relationships—but with the right supports in place, educators can turn these moments into opportunities for growth.

This workshop introduces the Prevent-Teach-Reinforce (PTR) for Young Children model—an evidence-based, team-driven process for developing individualized behavior support plans for children with persistent behavioral challenges. 

This training provides a step-by-step framework to:
    * Understand the PTR model and its alignment with the Pyramid Model and positive behavior support practices
    * Identify the function of a child's challenging behavior through observation and data collection
    * Develop preventive strategies to reduce triggers and promote success
    * Learn how to teach new, appropriate replacement skills that serve the same purpose as the challenging behavior
    * Explore reinforcement strategies that encourage positive behavior and strengthen skill use
    * Engage in collaborative team-based problem-solving, including family involvement and communication
    * Review case studies and practice developing parts of a functional behavior support plan

Participants will leave this workshop equipped with practical tools to reduce challenging behaviors and promote positive outcomes—ensuring that all children are supported in inclusive, nurturing, and developmentally appropriate environments.

Toolkit for the Educational Identification of Autism  

February 10, 2026 @ 8:30 AM

• ESU 10 - SPED
• Reeves, Courtney

This interactive workshop provides an in-depth exploration of assessments used in the educational identification of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Participants will examine both overall assessment approaches and tools specific to the three core areas impacted by ASD—communication, social interaction, and behavior.

The training will address identification practices from birth through age 21, including recognizing autism in girls. Emphasis will be placed on practical tools and strategies for evaluating students suspected of having an educational disability on the autism spectrum.

Educational teams will engage with a range of formal and informal assessment tools, participate in hands-on activities, and collaborate on developing a comprehensive body of evidence to support the identification process.

Registration Deadline: February 3rd, 2026

If you do not have an Odie account, you will need to request one prior to 
registering for the training. If you have questions regarding registration, please contact Denise Neill at 308-237-5927.

NASA Region IV School Administrators  

February 11, 2026

• ESU 10 - ADMIN
• Wheelock, Melissa

A meeting is held for all superintendents in the NASA Region IV area. Registration is required.  Agenda will be sent via list serve.

LETRS Volume 1 (Units1-4) Cohort 1 2025-26 (Day 3 of 4)  

February 12, 2026

• ESU 10 - T&L
• Lewandowski, Dallas

Teachers matter more to student achievement than any other aspect of schooling. Teachers need professional development that provides deeper knowledge, skills, and practice to successfully address reading difficulties.

• Understanding the content and methodology of research-based, explicit, structured literacy instruction

• Deep knowledge of the cognitive and language factors that shape student learning and of pedagogical detail

• Information about how to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all student

LETRS Volume 2 (Units 5-8) Cohort 2 2025-2026 (Day 3 of 4)  

February 13, 2026

• ESU 10 - T&L
• Kennicutt, Claudine

Teachers matter more to student achievement than any other aspect of schooling. Teachers need professional development that provides deeper knowledge, skills, and practice to successfully address reading difficulties.

• Understanding the content and methodology of research-based, explicit, structured literacy instruction

• Deep knowledge of the cognitive and language factors that shape student learning and of pedagogical detail

• Information about how to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all student

PowerSchool - PowerScheduler Prepare to Build 2 of 3  

February 19, 2026

• ESU 10 - NIS
• Schroeder, Ellie

Building a master schedule can be difficult and time-consuming. If your schedule changes a lot from year to year or you have new classes each year that need to fit in your schedule, a build is the best way to create the new master schedule. Prepare to build will allow you to specify what teachers work best with what classes, and which classes work best during certain times of the day. You can even specify that certain students should avoid certain teachers or classes. Prepare to build will hopefully generate the best schedule possible based on the scenario you set for your school.

When you build a schedule you must think of things like periods, bell schedules, courses, teachers, etc. Please come ready to work on your own schools information.
Laundry List of Needs for the Workshop:
1. Access to PowerScheduler.
2. Teacher assignments
3. School Calendar
4. Course List
5. What terms courses are taught
6. Know when teachers are available to teach certain courses
7. Know constraints on courses; such as specific periods or relationships with other courses.